Leadership Advice from America's Most Trusted Leaders!

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”John F. Kennedy

In his TED talk from February 2011 Retired Army General Stanley McChrystal talks about how after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 he had to become a different leader, a leader who in some ways had to completely relearn how he did things. This powerful talk highlights a key skill for leaders, especially leaders in today’s ever-changing environment – the ability to learn. A major challenge many of us face as leaders is that we have our blind spots, we have camouflaged them well, so we cannot see that we are no longer open to the learning and growth we absolutely need.… Read the rest

Sadly, the following is a true story: I had been tasked to provide a briefing to a leader whose reputation had preceded him by a wide margin. This particular leader was extremely powerful in his area of performance, and was widely known for a brash personality. When my colleague and I had been appointed to share our briefing with this leader, the enmity he was rumored to feel towards our branch of the organization was at an all time high. Contrary to what you might expect I looked forward to this brief like no other.… Read the rest